New York Beauty is addicting, 15 minutes to stitch, and To Do Tuesday

I have a 4th block finished, and I was able to fix the 2nd one to fit the others.  I am loving this project so much more than I expected!

15 Min to Stitch Report

After some advice from my blogging community, I have decided to count only 6 days a week since I don't sew on Sundays.  Thank you ladies for all of your support and great advice!

15 minutes sewing days/last week: 6/6
15 minutes sewing days/Jan: 11/11
15 minutes sewing days/2019: 11/11
Success Rate:  100%

To Do Tuesday:

This week I plan to finish two more NYB blocks,  cut out my polar bear block in my Alaska quilt, get some more quilting done on Mom's quilt, cut out some barn and pig blocks, and finish Ariel.

I didn't get linked up last week, but I did accomplish my weekly to do list.  Yay!  I hope this week goes as well.

I am also linking to BOMs Away with Lynette.

1st Q Finish Along Goals

It is time to link up my 1st quarter finish goals.  This linky party helps keep me rolling through the year, so THANK YOU to all of the 2019 FAL hostesses!

First on my list is my Mom's Quilter's Garden.  I have begun machine quilting it for her.

My goals for February and March are completely dependent on whatever numbers are drawn in the UFO challenge at Patchwork Times.  I will add the real photos to this post once those numbers are released on the first of those months, but you can check out my 12 month list at this link.

It may be really wishful thinking, but I also hope to make myself a bag out of some darling Singer 2" strips I purchased last year.

MARIE: Two New York Beauty Blocks

I finished two more New York Beauty blocks. They are really colorful, especially the second one. I'll have to strategically place that block somewhere where it will blend in a bit more than it does with the other two in the photo. I think the hardest part of the making the block is figuring out the placement of the colors. I hope to get better at it as I go along.

Another NYB block is done!

I made my third New York Beauty block this week.  I still plan to go back and fix the second one to fit the others in diameter.  I plan to add an extra ring to the  smaller one.  After playing with the measurements for a few days, I think I've got it figured out.

Here are the three blocks together.

Here are the same three blocks placed in a circle layout.

I am linking up with:

Midweek Makers
Let's Bee Social
Esther's WOW
Wednesday Wait Loss
Freemotion by the River

15 min to stitch report and other things too

Kate blogs at Life in Pieces hosts a challenge to sew 15 minutes every day.  I participated last year and plan to continue this year.  I find that those 15 minutes always turn into much longer which helps me get my projects done.  It isn't just about getting things done though; quilting is my therapy.

I don't sew on Sundays so I won't get higher than 86% for the year.  I try to make the Sabbath special or different from other days. I attend church, relax, write down my weekly goals, and visit with family.  I don't shop on Sundays either.  I have noticed that my week goes so much better if I keep the Sabbath Day Holy.  I feel that is God's blessing to me for setting aside one day a week for Him.

Here is my 15 minutes to stitch report starting Jan 1st:

15 minutes sewing days/week = 5/5 days
15 minutes sewing days/Jan = 5/5 days
15 minutes sewing days in 2019 = 5/5
Success rate = 100%

I am hosting a Create your Own BOM challenge this year.  You can join anytime, but a linky is open until the 15th.  You can read about it at the link.  The following photos are 5 out of 7 of the Blocks of the Month I am working on.  I break my monthly goals down into daily chunks.

Here are the fruits of my labor from last week's sewing:

I made a center star for my 2nd Feathered Goose block.

Ariel is coming to life one section at a time.

I made progress on my Gingerbread House embroidery.  You can see I've done the grey areas and have come pretty far on the snow.

I finished a second NYB block, but I am going to pick the last section out and piece in an extra ring.  I don't like that the two different patterns have different diameters.  I want the outside edge of the circle to match.

My friend and I made progress on our Barnyard quilt.  We made the goats as far as we could.  One goat sits atop a cow and has a sheep on its back.  Figuring out which legs go where will be easier once the three animals are mostly pieced.

The goat below is kind of sad looking because I have the wrong legs and background laying under her.  I will get it right when I sew it together.

Here is my friend's goat.  Her poor goat is missing a leg.  If we don't find it we will have to cut another one.

We also started on our dogs.  My friend sewed a variety of smaller sections together.

I sewed the entire head section together first.  My photo looks strange because the head is sewn together and the body is not.  The bottom half is still wrapped in Press N Seal to keep the pieces in order.  I also wanted to mention that I am doing two different quilts from this pattern, hence the two different styles of fabric.

I am linking up with:

Wednesday Wait Loss

Tish's UFO Busting

Bambi's Show N Tell 

Beth @ Cooking Up Quilts

BOMs Away by Lynette and What a Hoot!

Deana: Another NYB complete!

I am so surprised at how much I have loved making these blocks.  I like that I can measure the pieces, cut a strip to fit, and go to town on these babies.  Random paper piecing where every piece is different is less enjoyable to me.  These blocks make me want to make more right away.  Thank you Marie for encouraging me to get rolling on this one!  I am truly having so much fun!

Two down and 50 to go.

I am linking up with:

Needle and Thread Thursday

MARIE: My first New York Beauty block

I finished my first New York Beauty Block. As you can see, it is very different from Deana's. Even though we will be using the same patterns and the same layout for the quilt, our fabric choices are very different. I'm excited to see both of our New York Beauty quilts come together.

It took me a while to finish this block. I must get faster or it's going to take a very long time to finish this quilt. My goal is to make at least 2 blocks per week, but we shall see.

I finished this quilt a few months ago, but I failed to post a photo, so I'm going to do that now. This is one of Deana's beautiful patterns. I quilted it on my domestic machine. I really love this quilt.

To Do Tuesday

I always make a weekly list of goals that help me achieve long term ones, and To Do Tuesday asks us to do just that.  Check out the linky party here.

The first week of January I hope to accomplish the following:

1. Stitch 1/5 of a gingerbread embroidery house

2.  Begin quilting my mother's Quilter's Garden quilt

3. Make a New York Beauty Block

4. Paper piece 3 sections of Disney's Ariel

5. Piece 1 section of goat blocks

6.  Piece 1 centered ring star of the Feathered Goose pattern

January One Monthly Goal is #7!

I love love love participating in all of blogland's goal setting linkies.  This month Judy at Patchwork Times has drawn the number 7 for me to work on.  I was so excited to look at my list and see that I need to quilt my mother's Quilter's Garden.  I am so thrilled because this is one of two finishes that didn't get done last year.  Yay!  It is already basted and ready to stitch.  That makes it even more exciting!  The binding is even prepared.

Along with my One Monthly Goal, I always list other goals for the month.  I have been so excited for January to arrive so I can begin my "Create Your Own BOM!"  I made a list of quilts I wanted to work on a little each month.  I am motivated by a variety of projects and get bored with just one.  I certainly will not get bored this year!  I am doing all but one of those BOM's with a friend which also motivates me.

I am hosting a twice a month linky party for anyone who wants to show their BOM goal for the month and progress at the end.  You can check it out at the link above.  It closes on January 15th, but you can join any time you like throughout the year.

Here is my BOM goal list:

Finish Disney's Ariel.  You can see one eye and her lips.

One New York Beauty Block.  

Embroider this Gingerbread House that has been colored.

Sew one barnyard animal - probably the goats

One Feathered Goose Block

One Alaska Block 

I am linking up today with:

Em's Moving it Forward Monday

Bambi's Show and Tell Monday

2019 UFO List for my PHD

My UFO list is below.  I only have 5 tops that need to be quilted for myself and 2 for others and a whole load of piecing to do this year.  I intentionally started several in December because, while I may be able to piece them this year, I will not be able to quilt and bind them.  Any new 2019 starts have to be completed in 2019 along with 12 UFOs.

Here is a link to my quilt plan for 2019.


Here is a link back to this list in 2018.

2019 Flimsies – MY TOPS ready to quilt
#	Name of Quilt	Date Started	Date Complete
1	Block Lotto Win	Dec 2015
2	Periwinkle	Nov 2015
3	Dear Jane	May 2010
4	Justin’s Medallion	Dec 2017
5	School Kid Barns	Nov 2017

2019 Flimsies – OTHER PEOPLE’S TOPS ready to quilt
#	Name of Quilt	Date Started	Date Complete
1	Mom’s Quilter’s Garden (#4 in the post)	Aug 2016
2	Felicity Log Cabin Stars (#12 in the post)	July 2017

2019 UFOs – Needs Piecing Finished
#	Name of Quilt	Date Started	Date Top Done
1	Quilted Barns	Jan 2011
2	Diamond Hill	Feb 2017
3	Round Robin Frogs	Pre 2009
4	Round Robin Memory Black	Pre 2009
5	Round Robin Memory Yellow	Pre 2009
6	Tom Turkey	Nov 2018
7	Feathered Goose	Dec 2018
8	New York Beauty	Dec 2018
9	Disney Princesses	Dec 2018
10	Country Barnyard	Dec 2018
11	Batik Barnyard	Dec 2018
11	Christmas Row by Row	Dec 2018
12	Alaska	Not Started

Best of 2018!

I have so enjoyed blog hopping this past week.  I rarely have the time to do so because I work full time and then come home and sew fast and hard at night.  This week has been wonderfully relaxing with family and free time!

Here is my favorite photo of the year!  It features all of my 2018 quilt finishes that were still available for a group photo.  I blogged about it here.

As I have browsed around blogland, I really enjoyed visiting blogs on the "Best of 2018" linky party hosted by Cheryl at Meadow Mist Designs.  I have decided to join in the fun with this post. 

#1  2018 Most Page Views = Santa Top Done, Quilting, and Piecing.  This post had 1,120 page views.  Wow!

I was surprised that this post had so many page views.  It features three quilts.  One is a finished Christmas top, the next is some boring parts of a huge Medallion quilt, and the last one is some machine quilting in progress with basting stitches still showing.  I far prefer the end results of all three as shown in the photo below.

#2 2018 Tie for Most Comments (16) = Yay! Yay! Yay! I have another finish! 

This post featured a Stash Bee finish along with journals of and links to my online linky parties including:  PHD challenge, 15 Min to Stitch, and To Do Tuesday.  I will continue to join these groups in the upcoming year.

Below is a sneak peek. You can see the full finish at the linked post.

#3 Other Half of the Tie for Most Comments = Deana's Sliced Quilt Top Challenge is Done!

Funny thing is that I decided I didn't even like the layout of this quilt, so I ended up picking off the bottom border and paper piecing a gazillion more of those houses that I had a love/hate relationship with.  The ACTUAL finished top is linked here.  A Flimsy that has been Waiting for 16 Years!

Now, doesn't that look so much better?  I am SEW GLAD I decided to make more houses and get the look I really wanted for this quilt.  This quilt has a great story behind how it came about.  You can check out posts on it at this link.



#4 My second favorite 2018 post = A Few Things are Progressing Here

Oh how I love those bees and flowers!  They were just as much a joy to piece as they were to finish!  This post also features my daughter's darling Owl quilt that we did as a family round robin as well as my Quilter's Garden quilt loaded on the basting frames.

#5 My personal favorite 2018 post = End of the Month and Still Sewing on Goals

I just love that "Up on the Housetop" quilt SEW MUCH!  It was fun to make and fun to display.  I also love love love seeing those finished house blocks although I really did not enjoy making them.  The barn quilt was a joy because my kids at school made them in a quilting class I taught.

I am also linking up with:

Beth's Monday Making


Tish's UFO Busting